The Cheap Seats

I believe much of the wisdom we accrue in life comes only after pushing through pain (repeatedly), getting knocked down (repeatedly) or making some horrendous mistake (repeatedly) that we look back on later with the disbelieving thought, "What THE HELL was I thinking?!" In these instances, understanding comes  only after the pain has been soothed, we've picked ourselves up or a course correction has been made.   Thankfully, not all knowledge works that way. Some ah-ha moments gather momentum slowly, building on top of each other like snug fitting Legos in a slow accumulation until the sheer weight of repetition brings realization. These nuggets aren't earned the hard way. They don't require a sucker punch or hard rap on the head. Time is all it takes.    And the acquired information isn't specific. They don't include any, " I am the only person who has ever gone through this " mo...

Oh great - here he goes again - moaning how the past was better than the present. Give it a rest will ya, the decade of your youth was tacky, tasteless and trashy! Listen pal, you were obsessed with gadgets and garbage too. Have you forgotten the Sanyo Walkman (couldn't afford a Sony I guess) that was securely fixed to your belt from 1982 to 1985? Or what about those Adidas high-tops with the fat tongue that you intentionally stuck out of the shoe - what the hell was that all about? And let's not forget PBR - what were you thinking drinking that swill? I realize it only cost $2.48 for a six-pack (tax included), but were the day-after technicolor bowel movements really worth it?  To all of these accusations (and certainly many, many more) I readily admit my guilt.   In fact, I'll go one step further and proclaim that the Age we now live in is pretty damn cool. I have come around to embrace most of its shiny baubles and buttons -...

I am a child of the 80's. I started junior high in 1979 and finished college in 1989. I remember switching from flair to straight leg jeans in 7th grade; a Goody comb tucked in my back pocket through 8th and 9th grade; watching Michael Jackson moonwalk across the Apollo Theater stage in 10th grade; unsuccessfully try on parachute pants in senior high; buttoning the fly of my stonewashed jeans as I entered college; and finally, replacing my cassettes with something called cd's as graduation neared. The decade had a distinct attitude, style and sound.  Like many other people around my age, that sound lives on in our adulthood. I can hear a song from that era and be instantly transported back in time. As I should be. Most music fits snugly into the decade that spawned it. 80's music is no different. There are very few musicians and singers that are truly timeless, able to sound fresh and relevant from one decade to the next. I am...

"I cried off and on all the way home."   My mother told me this piece of information a few years ago. Her tears came after she and my dad had dropped me off in Morris, Minnesota, where I began my freshmen year of college in 1985. My own sadness was momentary, of course, as I was about to embark on a fantastic four years of freedom, fun and friendship.   Fast forward 28 years from that late September day and press Play . . . again.   My son left for Boston University one week ago. For most of this summer my thoughts of his looming departure bounced back and forth between excitement and concern - excited for him to begin this next chapter of his life, but understandable concern for his safety, health and well-being so far away from home. Sure, I also expected a measure of personal sadness, but incorrectly assumed this would center solely around his absence. Dead wrong.   In the days and weeks leading up to his exodus, a noticeable a...

As an amateur observer, I make dozens of judgments daily. Most are harmless, others are crackpot-like and a few (if I do say so myself) have merit. Regardless of their categorization, these observations float in and out of my conscious mind in random succession all day, every day. In fact, here is a short list of the  Things I'd Like to See Happen that I've mulled over just today:   1. People Care More About Their Privacy : Social Media has overwritten the 10th Amendment's inherent implied Right to Privacy. And no one cares. If you don't believe me, troll Facebook, Twitter or Instagram any given hour and it is largely full of the mundane portrayed as glamorous, opinions expressed as facts and blogposts about personal observ...a...t...ions . . . Oh crap. 2. The Return of Jarts : So some idiot gets killed and we all have to suffer? I know it's been about 30 years ago since their ban, but the classic yard game is still m...

  When I brought you home, wow - have three years gone by? I expected a one-person cat, not some feline with a wandering eye.   And for a while you fooled me, systematically setting the hook,  rubbing, purring and well - just being you, reading me like a book.   Yes, I played hard to get, pretending you mattered little. Coming and going myself, outwardly seeming non-committal.   A stand-offish co-habitation, perhaps that's why you grew bitter. Just tepid water and dry food, with an infrequently changed litter.   And all along I thought, "The uncovered poop is pure bluster," a sort of "Look what I did," instead of all the hate you could muster.   But didn't I feed you on time, put a roof over your head? Much longer in that shelter, you would have surely been dead!   And I gave you a better name, than that ridiculous Boots. You became...

Back in the early 90's I lived in Minneapolis, a half mile east of Lake of the Isles. Almost every day after work I jogged over to the running path that circled it, occasionally looping south to connect with its sister lakes, Calhoun and Harriet. These lakes, and the mass of humanity that are drawn daily to them, are still my three favorite places in the Twin Cities. I haven't lived in Minneapolis for almost 20 years, having bounced between its northern suburbs and St. Paul since 1994. But fortunately, Isles, Calhoun and Harriet have remained unchanged with time - as are people's reasons for enjoying them. Some - like me - use them for exercise, primarily running and biking. Others use them as gathering places; to picnic, to play, to swim or be seen. The great majority, however, walk - either alone or with a partner. Two Sundays ago I made the trek to Lake Harriet for a lap or two. Harriet is the most popular of the three l...